Team-11 asks for PDI to be disqualified

JAKARTA (JP): Team Eleven, the verification committee tasked with deciding the eligibility of poll contestants, will recommend that the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) be disqualified from participating in the June 7 general elections.

The recommendation is to be delivered in an official letter to Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid urging that the Supreme Court disqualifies the party for both legal and political reasons.

Team member Kastorius Sinaga told The Jakarta Post here Friday that the 11-member team, led by Muslim intellectual Nucholish Madjid, that the decision was taken after mulling over the objections presented by the Public Defenders of Indonesian Democracy (TPDI) against the troubled PDI led by Budi Hardjono.

"We want only 'clean parties' to contest the elections," he argued.

Nevertheless Kastorius maintained that Team Eleven would still comply with the legal procedures of registering the party as an electoral contestant and process its registration in accordance with the law.

Kastorius said the team has received a bundle of lawsuits filed by the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) against the PDI.

"PDI is still facing lawsuits in line with the violent take- over of the Jl. Diponegoro PDI Headquarters in July 27, 1996 and its violent congress in Palu, Central Sulawesi, last year," he said.

TPDI chaired by R.O. Tambunan, lodged with the team on Wednesday its objections to PDI being allowed to take part in the elections since the party was still facing lawsuits in many district courts across the country.

Andi Andojo Sutjipto, another team member, acknowledged that the law on general elections did not regulate troubled political parties but his team had political and legal reasons for making the recommendation.

"Besides facing lawsuits, the PDI still has political troubles with PDI Perjuangan and people know exactly who runs the former," he said.

The PDI was split into two camps after the government-backed 1996 Medan Congress which ousted chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri and elected Soerjadi as her replacement.

Megawati and her supporters refused to recognize the congress and filed actions against Soerjadi and a number of government officials who were accused of engineering the congress.

Soerjadi was then succeeded by Budi Hardjono during a congress in Palu lasy year.

While many suits have been either rejected or defeated, several are still pending in court.

Team Eleven has been assigned the task of administratively filtering out political parties eligible to contest the general election.

The twelve political parties which have passed through the first registration stage at the Ministry of Justice and are now being studied by Team Eleven are: Republic Party, Party for the Improvement of the People's Mind, PDI Perjuangan, Indonesian Islamic Congregation Party, Justice Party, Party for Indonesian People's Struggle, National Amor and Democracy Party, National Awakening Party, National Democratic Party, Justice and Union Party, MKGR Party and Crescent Star Party. (rms)